Campaign finance requirements in Ohio
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Ohio campaign finance requirements govern the following:
- how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations,
- how much and how often they must report those contributions, and
- how much individuals, organizations and political parties may contribute to campaigns.
In addition to direct campaign contributions, campaign finance laws also apply to third-party organizations and nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections through independent expenditures or issue advocacy.
Background
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign election laws. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions and overseeing public funding of presidential elections.[1] According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate and must begin reporting campaign finances once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in his or her campaign. Within 15 days of this benchmark, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee, which is responsible for the funds and expenditures of the campaign. This committee must have an official treasurer and cannot support any candidate but the one who registered it. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.[2]
The Supreme Court of the United States has issued a number of rulings pertaining to federal election campaign finance regulations. In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. The court's decision also overturned the ban on for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and unions broadcasting electioneering communications in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before a general election.[3] In the SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Election Commission decision, the first application of the Citizens United decision, the court held that contribution limits on what individuals could give to independent expenditure-only groups, and the amount these organizations could receive, were unconstitutional. Contribution limits on donations directly to candidates, however, remained unchanged.[4][5] In 2014's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court overturned biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits, and held that individuals may contribute to as many federal candidates as they want, but may only contribute up to the federal limit in each case.[6]
While the FEC governs federal election campaigns and contribution limits, individual states enforce their own regulation and reporting requirements. Regulations vary by state, as do limits on campaign contributions and third-party activities to influence elections.
Contribution limits
The table below details contribution limits as they applied to various types of individuals and groups in Ohio as of May 2015. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.
| Ohio contribution limits as of May 2015 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individuals | Single candidates committees | PACs | Legislative campaign fund | Political party | Super PACs | Corporations | Unions | |
| Statewide Candidate (incl. Governor) | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $0 | $706,823.95 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Senate | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $70,181.10/ $140,988.82 | $140,988.82 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| House | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $36,352.01/ $70,181.10 | $70,181.10 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| PAC | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $12,532.34 | $0 | $12,532.34 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Party committees | 37,597 | 37,597 | 37,597 | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Legislative Campaign Fund | $18,798.51 | $18,798.51 | $18,798.51 | $0 | unlimited | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Ballot measures | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | unlimited | $0 | unlimited | unlimited |
| Sources: Ohio Secretary of State, "Ohio Campaign Contribution Limits," accessed May 21, 2015 Ohio Secretary of State, "Ohio Campaign Finance Book, Chapter 9: Business and Labor Organizations," accessed May 21, 2015 |
Candidate requirements
See statutes: Title 35, Chapter 3517 of the Ohio Revised Statutes
Before a candidate may begin receiving contributions or making expenditures, he or she must file a Designation of Treasurer form. This form collects basic candidate information, including:[7][8]
- name and address of the candidate
- name of the campaign committee
- office sought
- name of the campaign's treasurer and any deputy treasurers (the candidate may serve as his or her own treasurer)
A bank account for the campaign must be established separate from any personal or business accounts the candidate may have. All contributions must be deposited into this account.[7]
Candidates for state executive office and the state legislature must file regular campaign finance reports with the Ohio Secretary of State.[9]
In addition, candidates for statewide office (excluding the state legislature) must submit monthly reports on campaign contributions received during the months of July, August and September.[9]
Campaign finance legislation
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Ohio state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 11 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- Ohio Voting Machine Use Amendment (September 1912)
- Ohio Primary Elections for Elective Offices Amendment (September 1912)
- Ohio Biennial Elections, Amendment 1 (1905)
- Ohio Elections of Members of the General Assembly, Amendment 2 (October 1879)
- Ohio Elections of State Officers, Amendment 3 (October 1879)
- Ohio Elections of Township Trustees, Amendment 4 (October 1879)
- Ohio Election Day for Members of the General Assembly, Amendment 1 (October 1885)
- Ohio Election Day for State Officers, Amendment 2 (October 1885)
- Ohio Election Day for County Officers, Amendment 3 (October 1885)
- Ohio Biennial Elections, Amendment 3 (1889)
- Ohio Voting and Elections Amendment (2025)
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Ohio and State election agencies
Candidates running for office may require some form of interaction with the following agencies:
Ohio Secretary of State - Elections Division
- Why: This agency provides and processes petition paperwork for statewide executive offices and judicial offices.
- 180 East Broad Street
- Columbus, OH 43215
- Phone: 614.466.2585
- Toll-free: 1.877.SOS.OHIO or 1.877.767.6446
- Website: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections.aspx
- 180 East Broad Street
Ohio Ethics Commission
- Why: This agency provides and processes personal financial disclosure statements for most offices.
- 30 West Spring Street
- Columbus, Ohio 43215-2256
- Phone: (614) 466-7090
- Fax: (614) 466-8368
- Website: http://www.ethics.ohio.gov/
- 30 West Spring Street
Ohio Elections Commission
- Why: This agency processes election-related complaints.
- 21 West Broad Street, Suite 600
- Columbus, Ohio 43215
- Phone: 614-466-3205
- Fax: 614-728-9408
- Website: http://elc.ohio.gov/
- 21 West Broad Street, Suite 600
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ohio campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "About the FEC," accessed June 27, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Candidate Registration Brochure," accessed December 7, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit," January 21, 2010
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Speechnow.org v. FEC," April 7, 2014
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Two Federal Court Rulings Could Change Campaign Finance Landscape," March 26, 2010
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ongoing Litigation," accessed March 18, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ohio Revised Code, "Title 35, Chapter 3517, Section 10," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ Ohio Secretary of State, "Ohio Campaign Finance Handbook," updated September 2012
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "2014 Ohio Campaign Finance Reporting Calendar," accessed December 13, 2013
